We’ve now known for nearly three hours that Pavel Bure – after being snubbed 6 previous times – was selected for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yet we’ve heard nothing, not a peep from Canucks.nhl.com, or the @VanCanucks Twitter feed, and fans in the digital space are outraged. (Update: The Canucks have issued a Press Release congratulating Pavel Bure, along with Mats Sundin. Here’s the link. I stand by everything said in this article, this is a poor way to congratulate Bure, and I think the team whiffed big time on handling this appropriately.).

Read past the jump for the rest of the screed…

I’d say they’re outraged with good reason: Pavel Bure is among the most beloved Canucks skaters of all time. Many of the fans who continue to be dedicated to and even obsessed with Vancouver’s NHL team, grew up watching Bure back up defenders at the blue-line, then promptly cut in between them and score.

Perhaps the relationship between Pavel Bure and the team is more strained than we’d realized, but even so, this is a big moment in the history of the franchise, and for fans of the team. That the current regime couldn’t be bothered to congratulate him on Twitter, or on the team’s official site is pathetic. If it’s an innocent mistake, and the wi-fi is down at Rogers Arena, it’s pathetic because it’s amateurish. If it’s because there’s a frosty relationship between the club and their former player: it’s pathetic because it’s petty and arrogant.

This isn’t just seen as a slap in the face to Bure, either, this is personal. The team may belong to the Aquilini’s, but the memories of watching Bure play: those belong to the fans and the city. Canucks fans generally want the team we still root for, who we see as connected to what Bure accomplished, to celebrate, or at least acknowledge, this honour.

It’s the same reason Canucks fans got worked up every year when Bure was snubbed: it was like the NHL was refusing to admit or appreciate how exciting, brilliant and unique Bure was as a player. Canucks fans knew what they watched was special, and they wanted it stamped, sealed and officially sanctioned as such. Now the official modes of Canucks communication, usually alive with photos of cute kids at the draft, or video of Fin’s latest antics, are the ones ignoring Bure’s accomplishment?

It’s crazy, this is a seminal moment in Canucks history, damnit! Is it too much to ask the team that fans pay good money to watch, and dedicate so much time to following – to show some respect? If you’re not going to show Bure some respect that’s one thing, it’s stupid and petty but whatever – but at least respect the experiences of your fans, and the history of hockey in Vancouver…

I’m with the other guys. Have we really reached the point where if our requirement for instant gratification isn’t met immediately, we are annoyed? Not posting something on twitter that millisecond is not “whiffing it big time”.

Just go look at how the Avalanche, Capitals, Panthers, or Leafs Twitter feeds dealt with today’s news and how the Canucks did… This is the first time a guy made the hall of fame based primarily on their success with the organization and the team waited three hours to issue a perfunctory press release? Embarrassing, really.

I find the website and twitter account is run very poorly compared to other organizations. They need some new blood in there. They’re always late with news, I hear from others on twitter hours before they make an announcement. This is not the first time this has happened. Also, last season I sent numerous messages regarding the 3 new Canucks acquired at deadline, wanting their pics on the roster changed to one with a Canucks jersey. It never happened. Now I see that 2 of the 3 have been changed, unfortunately the 1 who’s actually staying with the organization is still in a Sabres jersey. Stupid little things like this piss me off, because it’s pure laziness or lack of caring that causes the issue.

This article is exactly the type of thing that you always say that Canucks fans need to stop being so sensitive about. The Canucks Twitter, didn’t tweet a single thing in the 3 hours after the Bure announcement, about HOF or otherwise. We aren’t in Vancouver looking over their shoulder to know what they were up to. Yes, it doesn’t take long to do a quick tweet, and maybe they were just waiting for Gillis, but to get up in arms about it is a total waste of energy. To call out the organization as pathetic for waiting a few hours seems like nit-picking, oversensitive, and petty. You were already looking at the situation like they waited too long, so of course the tweet is going to read as pathetic and insignificant.

The treatment of Bure is obviously a big issue for you, but for me, I didn’t see anything wrong with their statement. So maybe keep in mind the next time you want to call out Canucks fans as being oversensitive. To you, the issue might not seem important, but to others, it could be a big insult.

@HenryZil You don’t see anything wrong with giving him equal billing with Sundin?

@JohnAndress usually we’re being analytical, this was more of an emotional response. I’m not sure I need a re-think, I see the team as having mangled their response to the news in a way that embarrassed me as a Canucks fan. This was the first time a guy has made the Hall mostly on the basis of his accomplishments while on the Canucks, I demand fanfare damnit!

I agree that they could’ve gotten to it a bit quicker but HarryZil makes a good point. As a fanbase, we get berated by the rest of the league (and by fellow Canuck fans) for taking everything too seriously. Then a moment comes along when we can prove that our emotions are in check and suddenly we’re supposed to be outraged? They should change the teams name to the Vancouver PRNightmares, because the front office are having those every night.

Mike Gillis and Bure are actually friends from when he was his agent so I’m sure he personally contacted him to congratulate him which pales in comparison to have been congratulated via twitter by the panthers. That’s not just Dale Tallon’s twitter account but the official panthers account…. an honor indeed. Suck it Gillis.